Recap: British man, 73, dies on Singapore Airlines flight after severe turbulence; 7 critically injured
Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 was travelling from London to Singapore when it was forced to make an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport.
At least one person has died after a Singapore Airlines flight from London (Heathrow) to Singapore encountered turbulence. (Photos: CNA Reader)
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
SINGAPORE: A 73-year-old British man died on Tuesday (May 21) after a Singapore Airlines flight he was on encountered severe turbulence.
Seven people on board were critically injured, said a senior Thai airport official.
SQ321 was travelling from London to Singapore when it was forced to make an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport at 3.45pm local time (4.45pm Singapore time).
Passengers described a sudden drop during the journey, with flight tracking data showing that SQ321 experienced a 6,000-foot (1.8km) drop within four minutes.
While turbulence can cause planes to lose altitude quickly, experts said the sudden dive would more likely have been the pilots' reaction to the situation.
“That amount of descent (relative to) time may not be subjected to a downdraft, it could be more indicative of the pilots reacting to the situation,” Mr Michael Daniel, managing director of consultancy firm Aviation Insight, told CNA's Singapore Tonight.
Here is a recap of what happened:
